Pre-Op Visit and Cuddly Scorpions

Tessa had a great time at Childrens' on Friday. We were there by 7:30 am and spent the whole morning being passed from nurse to anesthesiologist to administrative team and finally to the drawing of blood for labs. Okay, that last part Tess wasn't too thrilled about. But the rest of the time there was a blast.



I had never heard of a "Child Life Specialist" They're all over the hospital, and you can request to meet with them. Their job is to ensure the best possible hospital experience for patients, siblings and parents. Because they're not involved in the actual nursing care, they had time to spend with us. We met two of them yesterday.

Haley sat us down and went through a picture book with Tess about what her day of pre-op would be like. She had the O2 sensors, masks and caps, and other instruments that would be used to assess her later in the morning which allowed Tess to play with them, familiarize herself with them. When the time came to put the oxygen sensor on her finger, Tessa took it out of the nurse's hand and said, "I know how to do this one," and put it on her own finger all by herself.



Haley called up to the child life specialist on the ICU and arranged for a tour for us. That was so helpful, as Tess will be staying in the ICU for observation on Monday night before being moved to a regular floor for the remainder of her time at the hospital. Again, the CLS was so friendly and helpful, explaining in street language the protocols and policies of staying in the ICU: from visitation limitations to parental presence requirements.

I was impressed. Both of these women were competent, able to connect with a shy little girl of 3 years, and they provided answers to all of our questions - they have helped to significantly prepare us for our time next week at Childrens'.

The only hard part of the visit was, of course, getting Tessa's blood drawn for typing, cross-matching and testing in preparation for surgery on Monday. I held her on my lap, and Haley came in and did her best to distract her with spinning lights and a big picture book. Through the tears, Tess kept asking us to stop, finally (and dramatically) adding, "I just can't take it any more!" They let her choose her very own beanie baby to take home with her, because she was so brave. She turned down the birdie. She didn't go for the duckie. She left the kitty in the bin, too. What did she choose? A soft, cuddly scorpion. Haley eventually tracked down a little puppy, which Tess immediately fell in love with, so she decided to give the scorpion to Justin - who thought it was the coolest!

So, we're all set for Monday's surgery and a week at Childrens'. This weekend, we marry off Katie and Nate up at the Seminary, then church on Sunday, and then off we go. They tell us that there's wireless internet throughout most of the hospital, so there's a good chance I can continue updating the blog to keep you in the loop (depending on the level of sleep deprivation).